Islanders

Medical Training Of

Some Critics Slightly “Off the Beam”

Contributed

According to August issue of British Medical Journal a recent meeting of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in London discussed the training given at the local medical schools in a few colonial tropical territories.

Dr. C. C. Chesterman stated that, in his opinion, the “near doctor” has had his day in tropical Africa.

While there still was a need for “assistants” for registered doctors, they should be considered as tem porary and replaced as soon as there are enough qualified persons to meet the demand.

Dr. K. W. Todd, however, said that in Papua large numbers of medical aides, with modest train ing, were wanted, rather than more doctors with full qualifications.

Since 1886, there has been in Fiji a system of training medical assis tants. Although, at first, this train ing was very elementary—restricted to training in public vaccination only—considerable progress has now been made—eg, in 1929 by the in auguration of the Central Medical School in Suva; and in 1953 by the erection of the new Medical School at Tamavua which was opened by HM Queen Elizabeth during her recent visit.

Native students from Micronesia, Polynesia and Melanesia are se lected by their own Administrations for, admission to the Central Medi cal School in Fiji. Their educa tional standard on entry is depen dent on the educational facilities in their own Islands group—unless as in a very few cases, they have been to schools in New Zealand or Aus- For the majority of the students, on entry, their educational standard is low. For Melanesian students it often has been found necessary to get them to Fiji two or three years beforehand so that they may re ceive some elementary schooling m Fiji prior to entering the Medical School. . , The opinions of medical officers (and especially the European mem bers of the staff of the Central Medical School) are strongly divided on whether the medical training in Fiji should be that for assistant medical practitioners only, and to

continue indefinitely as such; c whether it should be advanced a rapidly as possible to the fulls qualified medical officer stage, coir parable with the medical training i the home countries.

A few moments’ consideratio suggests that the latter course is hr possible unless all the students o entry have passed a university er trance examination; and to this, students from Micronesia < Melanesia, and probably also froi Polynesia, would have to go to Ne Zealand or Australia for elemental and secondary education.

It therefore would appear mo: reasonable that this limited numb of students should continue on s New Zealand or Australian medic schools, where they might obtai entry, rather than return to tl Islands for medical training.

The inauguration of a new med cal school, with a complete sta and facilities for giving a comple medical training that would be re< ognised by overseas authorities not a simple matter of money ar material. The advocates of a rap expansion of native medical trail ing in Fiji into a six years’ cours would do well to sit back and n consider (a) the educational stai dards of the students on entry, ar (b) the medical requirements the isolated communities in tl more distant groups.